
'^^/ 



L 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




009 086 932 2 



Reprinted from the Journal of the Franklin Institute, September, 1909 



THE MIXTECA COUNTRY IN THE STATE OF OAXACA, 

MEXICO. 

BY 

JOHN BIRKINBINE, Consulting Engineer, 

Past President Franklin Institute; American Institute of Mining Engineers; 
and Engineers' Club of Philadelphia. 

Mexico is a land of surprises, a country of extremes, a nation 
of contrasts — where the old and the new, the poor and the rich, 
the crude and the refined are neighbors, and where ultra con- 
servatism is elbowed by evidences of modern progress. 

The topography in 75 miles jumps from ocean level to the 
snow-capped summit of Orizaba, 17,362 feet above that datum, 
and the climate varies from perpetual summer of the Torrid Zone 
to perennial snows on Popocatepetl, its neighbor Ixtaccihuatl 
and other mountains. The flora include cacti of the desert, 
wheat and maize of the temperate zone, cotton, sugar, coflfee, 
and luxuriant tropical growths with flow^ers and orchids in 
endless variety. The forest products of the highlands embrace 
oaks, pines, palo-blancho, mesquite and huisachie, while the hot 
country supplies rubber, ebony, mahogany and other hard woods. 
Many stream beds are dry " arroyas " or " barrancas," except 
during brief intervals when flood conditions temporarily trans- 
form these into rushing torrents; while the discharges of other 
rivers are fairly maintained throughout the year, and most water- 
courses have carved rugged caiions in the rocks or deep gashes 
in the alluvial plains. 

The topographical features have interfered with close associa- 
tions existing between different portions of Mexico, for the 
country may be divided into the " tierra caliente " and " tierra 
alto," the former comprising relatively narrow strips of hot lands 
bordering the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific 
Ocean, the latter forming the main plateau bounded by the two 
sierras, Orientalis and Occidentalis. It is these mountain ranges 



r ' o A' I 



202 John Birkinbine. 



and intervening long desert stretches which have made inter- 
communication difficuh. 

The sierras approach each other near the City of Mexico, 
and the adjacent states, which are largely mountainous, maintain 
a population whose density is, greater than that in other portions 
of the Republic. 

The people, mainly an assemblage of descendants of numer- 
ous tribes, many speaking ancient languages, are apparently 
united and patriotic in supporting a government nominally repub 
lican but by reasons of conditions nearly monarchial, and 
although our near neighbor, we fail to recognize that few coun- 
tries have had the soil more thoroughly stained by the blood of 
their people than the Republic of Mexico. 

The genesis of Mexican history is shrouded in uncertainty, 
little being known as to the origin of the Toltecs, Aztecs, Mix- 
tecas, Zapotecs, and other ancient peoples who came from un- 
known lands, but we are told of constant internal warfare and 
of the sacrifice of prisoners. Then, nearly 400 years ago, Cortez 
with a few hundred followers captured Mexico with its millions 
of people, who for three centuries were dominated by rapacious 
rulers and slaved to fill the coffers of Spain. The tales of rapine 
and plunder, of robbery and murder, done with the connivance 
of the ruler of Spain, or often in the name of the Church, tell 
how the inhabitants of Mexico were ground under the heel 
of oppression until their number was greatly reduced. 

In September, 1910, Mexico will recognize the centennial of 
its independence, or rather celebrate the hundredth anniversary 
of Hidalgo's first stroke for freedom, as for a half century subse- 
quently the country was in the throes of war to establish a 
government in which the people had some voice, no less than 
forty rulers, usurpers, governors, dictators, presidents, and em- 
perors having disturbed the nation during this period. Hence 
the peaceful development has been confined to the latter part 
of the century which will be celebrated. Eleven years elapsed 
between the bold effort of Miguel Hidalgo and the breaking 
away from the Spanish yoke under Emperor Iturbide, and three 
years later (1824) Guadaloupe Victoria was proclaimed the first 
President of Mexico. 

A large proportion of the fifteen and a half million popu- 
lation can be considered as very poor, and yet within a genera- 



em 



The Mixteca Country. 



203 



tion Mexico has passed from the verge of bankruptcy to a posi- 
tion among nations of the Western Hemisphere where its credit 
is second only to that of the United States. 

Although most of the 11, coo miles of railway have been 
constructed within twenty-five years, these and the telegraph 
lines are under government control, and, while largely dependent 
upon foreign capital for development of its resources, Mexico 
maintains a tariff which protects domestic manufactures and 
products. 

Its system of compulsory education is expanding and instill- 
ing among the people ambition to better their condition. The 

Fig. I. 




Girls' school and teachers in City of Tlaxiaco, illustrating the characteristic features of the 

children. 

peons, accredited as lazy, cheerfully perform tasks demanding 
physical exertion which would appall our average workmen, and, 
proclaimed as dishonest, are faithful in discharging individual 
trusts committed to them. In the city streets elaborately gowned 
women are brushed by the barefoot Indian mother whose scanty 
costume is shared by an infant swung on her back in a " rebosa " 
and the burro with a pack larger than himself, or the " carga- 
dors " bearing heavy or cumberous burdens appear as competitors 
lo modern express wagons, or as contrasts with elegant equipages 
or automobiles. 

Mercantile houses and offices in cities close for two hours at 



204 



John Birkinbine. 



midda}^ nominally for " siestas ", but few American shop-keepers 
or merchants devote more hours per day to counter business than 
the average Mexican merchant. However, the numerous 
" fiestas " recognized as partial or full holidays reduce the aver- 
age of shop hours. 

As a rule the rich have large wealth, while the poor have little, 
if any, possessions beyond the limited wardrobe which serves as 
clothing, ample for the midday warmth, but apparently insuffi- 
cient protection for the cool night air, for in much of Mexico 
one seeks the shade while the sun is shining, but sleeps under 
blankets at night. 

Fig. 2. 




Peon children in the Mixteca country." 



It is not unusual in " casas grandes " to have formal dinners 
of many elaborate courses in the middle of the day, which include 
the plebian " tortillas " and " frijoles ", the staple support of the 
peons throughout Mexico. 

Appreciating the general conditions outliiied, it was not sur- 
prising to find within less than 300 miles of the capital of the 
Republic a section of which few in the City of Mexico know little 
except by hearsay, but Axhich offers much of interest in its history, 
topography, products, its people and their habits. 

Southeast of the capital lies the State of Oaxaca, fronting on 
the Pacific Ocean for 300 miles, but of its total area of 35,392 
square miles (equivalent to four-fifths of the area of the State 



The Mixteca Country. 



205 



of Pennsylvania) the bulk is mountainous, the average elevation, 
above sea-level approximating that of its historic capital, Oaxaca, 
5000 feet. 

The population of the State in 1900 was 948,633. 

The only railroads within the boundaries are parts of the 
Vera Cruz and Pacific, the Tehuantepec, and .the Mexican South- 
ern roads (the latter connecting the cities of Puebla and Oax- 
aca) ; the total mileage within the State (370 miles), reaches 
but a small percentage of its area, while the extent of wagon 
roads in the mountains is limited. These, conditions hold true 

Fig. 3. 




:jBBJW.BBJW|^5iw---- 





Fountain in Market place, City of Tlaxiaco. Three of these fountains supply the inhabitant 
with water which is carried to their hornes in vessels of various kinds. 

for the neighboring State of Guerrero, which like Oaxaca is 
mountainous, with but one railroad and few w^agon routes within 
its borders. 

In the central western portion of the State of Oaxaca, known 
as the Mixteca country, live the Mixteca people who claim to 
trace the history of their race to the sixth century of the Chris- 
tian era, a mountain people whose pueblas and towns are located 
in valleys of 6000 to 7000 feet altitude with surrounding moun- 
tains 2000 to 4000 feet higher. The alternation of mountain 
ranges and fairly well watered valleys presents superb vistas 
from the crests of divides, some showing beyond the valleys an 
apparent succession of ranges with peaks or individual sierras 
overtopping their neighbors, while views from other passes pre- 



2o6 John Birkinbine. 

sent such variety of form and direction as to merit the description 
of " scrambled mountains." In one valley is seen corn and 
wheat as predominating, the mountain sides bearing trees of the 
temperate zone, while another, which is at lower average alti- 
tude, exhibits large areas of vivid green sugarncane fields, 
fringed with palms or banana trees. 

The visit to the Mixteca country was made via Parian, 
a water station on the Mexican Southern Railroad, 36 miles 
north of Oaxaca, elevation 4900 feet, where the horse trail was 
taken westward over the mountains, the objective point being the 
City of Tlaxiaco, 90 miles distant. This trail, on most of which 
wheeled vehicles cannot be used, traverses a series of steep 
mountains with intervening valleys, and in the latter are located 
the towns of Nochixtlan, Teposcolula and a number of minor 
settlements ; the passes over the mountains ranging from 8000 to 
8S00 feet above sea-level. 

Nochixtlan, a town of 3000 inhabitants, located 7000 feet 
above sea-level and 25 miles from Parian, is supported by liberal 
nearby areas of grain and corn, by tropical products from the 
lower valley, and by pack-train traffic passing through it to and 
from the railroad. The crests of a group of hills, just west 
of the town, are covered wath innumerable pieces of broken 
pottery, much of it evidently of great age, and from among 
this accumulation many small carved idols are obtained. Some 
of these idols have faces and poses suggesting Egyptian origin, 
others possess features of decided Asiatic cast. 

Teposcolula, 30 miles west of Nochixtlan, evidently the rem- 
nant of a more pretentious settlement, is claimed to have been 
the ancient capital of Oaxaca, and the remains of a magnificent 
church edifice attest the important position the town formerly 
held. Fluted stone columns, 20 to 30 feet high and 30 to 40 inche; 
in diameter, support by ornamental groined arches the damaged 
roof of the sacristy, while similar columns and arches define por- 
tions of w^hat were the nave and transept, and the dome, which 
is elaborately carved, is falling to pieces, fairly good-sized trees 
growing from it. The date of construction is unknown, but an 
adjoining pretentious church edifice now in use is claimed to have 
been built in 1763, largely from material obtained from the older 
church. Appearances suggest that, like many other buildings 
in Mexico, this cathedral was never completed, but the architec- 



The Mixteca Country. 



207 



tiire and masonry work equal what we consider remarkable in 
modern limes, and, when it is remembered that each part had to 
be made of a size which could be transported from distant points 
on animals, the fitting together of these represents intelligent 
design, great skill, patience and enormous expenditure of labor. 
Another instance indicative of the former importance of this 
section of the country is in the settlement of Santa Maria Tilte- 
pec, at the base of the mountain separating the valleys of the 
Nochixtlan and Huajuapani rivers, where there is a large church 

Fig. 4. 




Transportation methods along a trail in the Mixteca country. 

whose facade and sides are replete with carved stone work. It 
bears the date 1689, ^^"^d, as it was probably a number of years 
,in construction, was being built at the time William Penn settled 
in Philadelphia. The exterior of the building, the liberal display 
of gilded ornamentation of the interior, and the elaborately decor- 
ated organ, are in marked contrast with the surrounding habi- 
tations, consisting of some two-score huts with adobe or cane 
sides and roofs thatched with split aloe or palm leaves. 

At Teposcolula the main trail forks, one branch passing- 
southwest to Tlaxiaco, the other northwest to Huajuapam, the 
two prominent cities of the Mixteca country. 

In towns and villages a few " carretas " drawn by oxen were 



2o8 John Birkinbine. 

in evidence, but these are employed only on the streets or on adja- 
cent farm lands in the valley, for even these crude wooden con- 
structions, in which no iron is used, cannot cover the steep, rough 
and often narrow trails across the mountains. 

Tlaxiaco, a progressive town of 8000 inhabitants, with sub- 
stantial buildings, is 90 miles from a railroad or from any con- 
tinuous highway upon which wheeled vehicles are used, and 
nearby settlements add several thousands to the town's impor- 
tance. It is well built, having some handsome houses and large 
stores, supporting an electric plant for street lighting oper- 
ated by steam engines supplied by a 30 horse-power boiler 
fired with wood, and telegraph and telephone are also installed. 
The boiler, engine, and generators were carried or dragged to ths 
town and among cumbersome furniture which one is surprised 
to find, owing to the difficulty of transportation, are pianos, bil- 
liard tables, or large mirrors, and the whirr of the sewing 
machines and click of type-writers are in evidence. On Satur- 
days the broad market place is a scene of great activity, when 
pottery-makers, weavers of " sarapes ", " rebosas ", " serviettas ", 
baskets, and hats, iron workers, wood choppers, charcoal burners 
and farmers, the latter with his maize and " zacate ", barter their 
products for meat, fresh vegetables, tropical fruits, skins, sugar 
cane, " pulque " and '' aquadiente." The attendance ranges from 
3000 to 4000, making the scene active and alive with color, and 
some vendors travel for two or three days to reach the market. 

A purchaser entering a Tlaxiaco store finds many surprises 
in the extent and variety of stock carried, and the number of 
sewing machines sold in this Mixteca country is sufficient to en- 
courage the maintenance of special depositories, the noise of the 
shuttle often coming from a one-room adobe or cane hut with 
thatched roof far from the towns. 

A ride in one of the two passenger wheeled conveyances of 
which Tlaxiaco boasts was a special compliment tendered by a 
wealthy merchant. The road was rocky and rough, but two 
strong mules drew the buckboard, for such it was, through the 
city and out upon the hill on which San Pedro, the ancient 
city, formerly stood. With this exception no vehicle for travel 
was seen until, after following the trail for 200 miles, a " dili- 
gencia " drawn by five mules was utilized to climb a steep 
mountain face by a zig-zag road which in five miles overcame a 
difference in altitude of ^500 feet. 



The Mixteca Country. 209 

A collection of adobe huts, a cemetery, and a church cover 
the site of San Pedro where General Porfirio Diaz routed the 
allied French and Austrian troops in 1866, a locatioi which justly 
wins for Tlaxiaco the term " Buena Vista," for there are grand 
mountain views on all sides. When the writer subsequently in- 
formed President Diaz of this visit, the soldier immediately over- 
shadowed the statesman, as with sparkling eyes and dramatic 
gestures the veteran recited details of the warfare carried on 
among the mountains of the Mixteca country, and told of bold 
strategic methods by which forces greatly superior in number 
and equipment were defeated. 

In the valleys, which have elevations ranging from 5000 to 
7500 feet and are fairly well watered and cultivated, corn, wheat, 
and some sugar cane are the staple products. In towns adobe 
dwellings and stores and the ubiquitous Mexican churches are 
in evidence, but the majority of the people live in pueblas, collec- 
tions of adobe or cane huts, thatched with maguey or palm leaves, 
and the most of the population are known as Mixteca Indians. 
Outside of the larger cities but little Spanish is spoken, the lan- 
guage of the Mixtecas being quite distinct, sometimes suggestive 
of the Orient, and occasional types of Indians resemble the 
Asiatics. 

Some of the Mixtecan words and their equivalents in Spanish 
(the language which predominates in Mexico) and in English 
are: 



English. 


Spanish. 


Mixtecan. 


River 


Rio 


Yute 


House 


Casa 


Vee 


Water 


Agua 


Hindute 


Tree 


Arbol 


Nutu 


Charcoal 


Carbon 


Ticalliniitu 


Bread 


Pan 


Yxtatila 


Corn-fodder 


Zacate 


Dndojo 


Trail 


Camino 


Hichi 


Man 


Hombre 


Te 



These apply to the Mixteca country only, for within a few 
leagues other dialects differing in many features prevail. 

The triumvirate honored by patriotic Mexicans consists of 
Hidalgo, Juarez and Diaz. Of these President Diaz was of 
Mixtecan parentage, and his tutor Juarez came from the neigh- 
boring Zapotecs. The President's familiarity with the Mixteca 
country, its mountains, streams, towns, pueblas and its trails. 



2IO 



John Birkinbine. 



was made apparent in two interviews in which he showed an inti- 
mate knowledge of conditions and resources. As a soldier he 
traversed the mountains of Oaxaca, and among the engagements 
mentioned on his military record are those of Nochixtlan, Hua- 
juapam and Tlaxiaco. 

In a country remote from avenues of transportation, and 
where mountains interfere with constructing wagon roads, crude 
methods of manufacture, agriculture and industry are to be 
expected. A soil fertile by nature is limited in production by 
shallow cultivation with the wooden plow. The clip from herds 

Fig. v 



W^^^^^^^^^K^^^^E^^a ^' 


HH^^^B. ^IIP?<^^^HBHHIb9H 


-^j^^f0'i 




P^^M??W£^^-W§t^i^^'''^^ 


f /i.>i : .. ■ - 



Ferreria (Catalan forge) in Oaxaca. Note the water-fall in back of the building which furnishes 
power to operate the hammer and water wheel and also for blast by means of a trompe. 

of sheep and goats which range the mountains and by devouring 
the younger growth prevent forest reproduction, is carded, spun 
and woven by hand into articles for personal wear and domestic 
use. 

Iron ore, won from deposits which have large reserves of ex- 
cellent mineral, with charcoal, made in the woods in small meilers, 
is fed to open forge fires, both ore and fuel being transported in 
sacks on burros. A column of water falling in a wooden trompe 
produces blast to accelerate the fire, and the loupe when completed 
is wrought under a helve hammer operated by a water wheel, 
the bars or anchovies being sold in towns at from 4 to 6 cents 
("gold) per pound. The abundance of iron ore and the un- 



The Mixteca Country. 



211 



wrought deposits of coal in the Mixteca country give promise 
of a more extensive modern iron industry in the future. 

The coal is apparently in the upper Jurassic formation, and 
in this respect differs from that now mined from the cretaceous 
horizon of Northern Mexico. The mineral from each of three 
basins explored is classed as bituminous, cariying considerable 
ash, but one section in Western Oaxaca produces coal, made 
dense probably by compression until it resembles anthracite and 
burns without smoke. The extent of this basin is being tested 
by the Oaxaca Iron and Coal Company by numerous exploratory 

Fig. 6. 



/ S-^ "WfeiSrii. / 




Lumps of coal at the mouth of an exploratory drift near Tezoatlan, Oaxaca. The wheel- 
barrow is used under protest, the natives preferring to handle the coal in crude litters as shown 
in the background. 



drifts, supplemented by two diamond drills which have been 
carried over mountain trails to the workings. 

The topographical and geographical location of the Oaxaca 
coal, 6000 to 7000 feet above sea-level, and 300 miles from the 
City of Mexico, whose altitude is 7500 feet, as compared with the 
Coahuila coal from Northern Mexico, elevation 1500 feet and 
distant 830 miles from the capital, offer inducement for their 
development, and reconnaissance indicates that by routes approxi- 
mately following water courses satisfactory railroad connection 



212 



John Birkinbine. 



can be made with the Oaxaca coal fields, and that this may be 
extended to the Pacific coast. 

The mountains of Oaxaca also yield ores of the precious 
metals, of antimony, copper and lead, some of which are won, 
transported and smelted by crude methods, while others are 
exploited and treated with modern equipment. 

Some contrasts in the Mixteca countiy are most pronounced ; 
in the treatment of sugar cane, one may see in use crude wooden 
or stone rolls rotated by animal or water power, and all inter- 
mediate methods between these and modern mills thoroughly 

Fig. 7. 




Band at City of Tlaxiaco. Note modern instruments, youthful performers, leader, and patron to 
whose generosity the band owes much of its success. 

equipped, the latter, however, being convenient to railway trans- 
portation. 

That the Mixtecans as a rule are industrious was evidenced 
by the many who, while directing pack trains over the trails, were 
weaving hats or mats, and by the sound of the loom, or even 
the modern sewing machine in mud or cane shacks. Their physi- 
cal endurance is illustrated by bearing heavy burdens for many 
miles, over rough trails, keeping up a fast trot the while. 

Like most Mexicans, the people are fond of music, and the 
large towns support good bands, while smaller settlements each 
have an orchestra of some kind. In Tlaxiaco serenades were 
tendered l)y orchestra and by band, the latter, having 30 members 



The Mixteca Country. 213 

(a number of whom were boys) supplied with instruments famil- 
iar to ourselves, rendered popular and classic music with excellent 
effect from scores illumined by candles. On another occasion 
the orchestra from Tezoatlan crossed a mountain trail for 15 
miles to serenade the camp; one of the numbers played being a 
tuneful composition by a member of the orchestra. 

A daily wage rate of 50 centavos (25 cents gold) does not 
])ermit these Mixteca bands and orchestras the luxury of uni- 
forms, hence the favorable impression develops when hearing 
well-known selections played in good time and tune by men and 
boys clad in linen trousers and blouse, with a " sarape " on the 
shoulder, a " sombrero " on the head, and sandals on the feet. 
(The members of the band and the school-girls of Tlaxiaco were 
dressed for the important occasion when the photographs were 
taken from which illustrations were reproduced.) 

The " sarape ", a constant companion for all Mexicans, serves 
as a coat by day, a cover by night, and a cushion to soften the 
load carried on the shoulders; but in th^ rainy season a coat 
made of palm leaves is often worn. 

The Mixteca country is not peculiar in the loose sexual 
relations which prevail, due to the absence of legal or religious 
marriage formality among many of the poorer people, for in much 
of Mexico a large percentage of the children of the peons are 
illegitimate. It is claimed that in the divorcement of Church and 
State, which was enforced under Juarez, the government refused 
to sanction religious marriages owing to the political machina- 
tions which had been carried on by a then dominant clergy. But 
as the fee for a legal civil marriage, or that often demanded for 
a religious union, is beyond th^ ability of the really poor, these 
loose relations are maintained, winked at by both State and 
Church. Many of these voluntary ties apparently result in 
happy associations, and families seem to have bonds of affection ; 
but if Mexico is to truly prosper, it will be necessary to have 
its coming generations imbued with the spirit which is expressed 
by the Commandment " Honor thy Father and thy Mother," 
and the respect and love which this spirit develops. 

Although this section of Mexico is subject to wet and dry 
seasons, there is usually sufficient intermediate deposition of rain 
to permit of dry farming for grains, but where irrigation is 
practiced the crops are more diversified, larger, and dependable. 



2.14 



John Birkinbine. 



Many streams having their sources in the higher mountains 
are well maintained in the dry seasons, offering possibilities for 
water power improvement, and one of the camps on the Mixte- 
pec River was at the mouth of a gorge whose nearly vertical 
walls rise for 200 feet above the stream which rapidly falls 
through the canon formed, suggesting a site for future hydro- 
electric installation. 

Throughout the Mixteca country numerous churches, a large 
portion being pretentious, well-built structures, attest the exten- 

FiG. 8. 




Part of the Ruins of Mitla, Oaxaca, which have been excavated, showing the interior patio 
of the North Court, the absence of arched construction, the use of monolithic lintels, and some 
varieties of mosaics. 

sion of the Spanish conc[uest to Western Oaxaca. Cities or im- 
portant pueblos boast of several churches, and some large 
structures crown hills with but a scattered assemblage oi huts 
for companions. The architecture varies but little from a gen- 
eral design Avhich is repeated except in a few instances, but some 
of the carved stone work is unique. 

Beyond the broken pottery, small stone idols, copper tools, 
and some evidently ancient foundations or walls, there are few 
reminders of the peoples who many centuries ago lived among the 



The Mixteca Country. 



215 



mountains of Oaxaca. But noted relics of ability and industry 
evidenced by races whose history is now mere conjecture, are 
adjacent to the Mixteca country, such as the carved stones of 
Mont Alban, and the elaborate mosaic work at Mitla. More 
careful research may expose some of these ruins representing 
earlier civilization in the Mixteca country. 

Fig. 9. 




&l..^.\^€l^ 



Detail from the Ruins of Mitla, Oaxaca, showing some of the mosaic work, so well laid and closely 
jointed as to have withstood the ravages of time for unknown centuries. 

We of the United States, taught that our Continent when 
discovered iDy Columbus was peopled by ignorant savages, have 
difficulty in realizing that within less than thirty years after this 
generally accredited discover}^, Cortez lau'^ciV in Mexico and 
found in temples and structures, many of whici.wei'.e subse- 
quently destroyed, evidences of what mr iy be consider^ '^ 
civilization. 



MY 8 \y'> 



2i6 John Birkinbine. 

The illustrations presented are of work done before the 
advent of either Columbus or Cortez by inhabitants of Mexico 
whose history seems to have been forgotten. 

The cliff houses and other scattered relics of an ancient peopl . 
in what is now the United States may be increased by future 
investig'ation, but we cannot expect these to rival the ancient 
ruins of Mexico, Central or South America. 

It is claimed that the Mixtecas formerly occupied most of the 
States of Oaxaca and Guerrero and a portion of Puebla but were 
driven from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by the Zapotecs. They 
were devoted to agriculture while not engaged in warfare with 
the Zapotecs, Aztecs or other tribes, but succumbed to the 
Spanish. They, however, were prompt in aiding to drive the 
Castilians from the country, active in the overthrow of the 
Maximilian dynasty, and evidenced on many occasions the 
patriotism which seems to be inborn in mountain people. 

The march of progress i'l Mexico has scarcely touched the 
Mixteca country, but it may be expected to ultimately extend 
throughout its mountains and valleys, developing its mineral 
wealth, waking the echcjes by the locomotive whistle or automo- 
bile shriek, advancing the earning power of its people, and en- 
couraging in them new ambitions. With modern equipment 
more intense agricultural de^^elopment will result; with water 
powers improved, coal mined, and mechanical appliances installed, 
manufacturing will expand, and with increasing education the 
section may be expected to take decisive progressive steps. 

/ 

The Birkinbine Enj^ineering Offices invite attention to their 
facilities for carrying forward engineering investigations and 
constructions, including the preparation of plans, specifications, 
estimates, tests, reports upon properties, expert testimony, consul- 
tations, etc. 

The endorsements offered are the record of a business life 
covering more than half a century, in which three generations 
have participated ; the wide range of work planned and executed 
in this and other countries ; and the policy of keeping free from 
financial interests, r-r-ntingent fees, or patent royalties. 



